What Is a Legal Description?

A legal description is the written, precise definition of a piece of land used in deeds, mortgages and title documents. Unlike a street address, it identifies the land itself, using a recorded lot and block, a series of measured boundary calls, or a position in the government survey grid. It's what makes a transfer of property legally clear.

The test is simple to state and hard to meet. Colorado's assessor guidance says a description is valid if it correctly and effectively describes the parcel so the parcel cannot be confused with any other parcel. The Bureau of Land Management puts a surveyor's spin on it: a legally sufficient description is one that can be located on the ground by a land surveyor.

Why a Street Address Isn't Enough

An address helps the mail carrier and emergency services find a building. It can change if a street is renamed, it may cover more than one parcel, and vacant land often has none. A legal description is written to describe the land with no ambiguity, so that someone reading the deed decades later can tell exactly which land is being transferred. See Legal Description vs Street Address for the comparison.

The Three Main Types

Which system applies depends mostly on how the state was first surveyed. Alabama's Extension service lists 20 states that still use metes and bounds, including the original thirteen, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Hawaii. The township-and-range grid dates to 1785 and, according to Colorado's guidance, became the principal survey system for most lands west of the Mississippi and several states east of it.

The systems also mix. A state on the federal grid still has subdivisions, and a metes-and-bounds description can be tied to a PLSS corner. Colorado's guidance notes that its metes-and-bounds descriptions always tie to an established public land survey corner or a recorded plat corner.

Examples of Each Type

Lot and block

Lot 12, Block 4, Willow Creek Estates, Unit 2, according to the plat recorded in Plat Book 18, Page 42, records of Example County, State.

This one is short because the plat holds the details: dimensions, easements and corners. To see them, get the recorded plat. See Parcel Map vs Plat Map.

Metes and bounds

Beginning at an iron pin at the northwest corner of Lot 5; thence South 89°30′ East, 200.00 feet to an iron pipe; thence South 0°15′ West, 217.80 feet to a point; thence North 89°30′ West, 200.00 feet to a point; thence North 0°15′ East, 217.80 feet to the point of beginning, containing 1.00 acre, more or less.

Each “thence” is one side of the boundary, with a direction and a length. Together they form a closed shape.

Government survey (PLSS)

The Northeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of Section 14, Township 3 North, Range 5 West of the Sixth Principal Meridian, Example County, State.

This points to a 40-acre square, nominally, in the national survey grid. A section is 640 acres, a quarter is 160 and a quarter of that is 40. “Nominally” matters: the BLM describes a section as nominally one mile square, and surveyors pushed leftover error to the north and west edges of each township, so tracts there can be larger or smaller. How to Read a Legal Description covers those edge cases.

What a Legal Description Does Not Tell You

It defines where the land is, and stops there. It doesn't say what's built on the land, who the current owner is, or whether easements and liens affect it. A title insurance trade group's training material puts it bluntly: the description describes the location and dimensions of the property lines, not what happens to be physically on that land. It also doesn't show you the land. Reading the words and finding the corners are two different jobs.

Where to Find a Legal Description

• Your deed. The most reliable source. It's usually near the beginning or on an attached exhibit.
• A title report or title insurance policy.
• Your mortgage or closing papers.
• The county recorder's office. Many have deeds online, searchable by name or address.
• The county assessor's property record. It often shows a short or abbreviated version, which is useful for orientation but not a replacement for the deed. Colorado's guidance, for example, tells assessors they may rewrite and condense descriptions for tax rolls by shortening and abbreviating them.

Legal Description vs APN vs Parcel Map

• The legal description is the legal definition of the land.
• The APN is the county's ID number for the parcel (see What Is an APN?).
• The parcel map is a drawing of the parcel (see What Is a Parcel Map?). It's built from the legal descriptions, but it's a drawing and not a measurement.

Who Writes One, and When a New One Is Needed

You copy a legal description from the last deed. You don't invent one. A new description is typically needed when land is split, when a boundary line moves, or when a strip is carved off for a road or easement, and that work usually belongs to a licensed surveyor. Some states add paperwork rules. In Colorado, a document recorded after July 1, 1992 that contains a newly created description must name and give the address of the person who created it. Other states have their own rules.

What If Your Legal Description Looks Wrong?

• The deed and the assessor's version differ. The assessor's text is often shortened. Compare against the recorded deed.
• It mentions a road or marker that no longer exists. This is common in old metes-and-bounds descriptions. A surveyor can interpret it.
• It doesn't seem to close or match the acreage. It may contain a typo. Raise it with a title company, attorney or surveyor before relying on it.
• The lot number or plat reference doesn't match any recorded plat. Call the recorder. If it's a clerical slip, an attorney can tell you the right way to fix it, which is often a corrective document recorded with the county.
• You can't make sense of it. See How to Read a Legal Description.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is considered a legal description of a property?

A written description that identifies one parcel and no other: a lot and block with a plat reference, a metes-and-bounds walk around the boundary, or a township, range and section. A street address or APN alone usually isn't enough.

Is a legal description the same as an address?

No. The address is a label for mail and navigation. The legal description defines the land and is what deeds and mortgages rely on.

Is the APN part of the legal description?

Not by itself. It's the county's tax ID for the parcel. Some documents list it next to the legal description as an aid to identification.

Where can I find my property's legal description?

On your deed first, then your title policy, closing papers, or the county recorder's records. The assessor's website often has a shortened version.

How long is a legal description?

It can be one line, like a lot and block, or a full page of boundary calls. Length depends on the type and how irregular the parcel is.

Common Mistakes

• Using a street address on a contract instead of the legal description when the legal description is needed.
• Retyping a legal description by hand and introducing errors. Copy it exactly.
• Assuming the shortened version on a tax record is the full description.
• Treating a parcel map outline as the legal definition of the land.

A legal description is a legal document. For purchases, transfers or disputes, an attorney, title company or licensed surveyor should confirm that it describes the land you mean.

Sources

• Chapter 13, Land Identification and Real Property Descriptions (Colorado Division of Property Taxation) The four methods of land description used in Colorado, validity test, rewriting by assessors.
• Specifications for Descriptions of Land (Bureau of Land Management, rev. 2017) What makes a land description sufficient; nominal section size.
• Understanding Property Legal Descriptions (Alabama Cooperative Extension System) Which states use metes and bounds; township and range basics.
• Legal Description Basics (Michigan Land Title Association) What a legal description covers and does not cover.